Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Hits Panama, Triggers Tsunami Alerts

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama on Friday, prompting tsunami warnings across Central and South America, according to Al Jazeera, which cited Reuters and The Associated Press.

The US Geological Survey placed the epicenter about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of Pitaloza Arriba, a remote community on Panama's Pacific coast, the outlet reported. The US National Weather Service issued tsunami warnings for Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala after the quake, and Chile's naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service issued a separate warning, according to the report.

Where did the earthquake strike?

The quake was centered along Panama's Pacific coastline, near Pitaloza Arriba, according to the USGS data cited by Al Jazeera. Residents of Panama City, roughly halfway across the isthmus from the epicenter, reported strong tremors. Rosendo Dominguez, 60, from Herrera province where the quake struck, told The Associated Press by phone: "We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we're okay, though we're very scared." Dominguez added, "Everyone is outside, scared."

Which countries received tsunami warnings?

The National Weather Service's warnings covered Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, Al Jazeera reported. Chile's naval hydrographic service issued its own warning for the South American country's coastline. The breadth of the alerts reflects the quake's size and its location along the Pacific coast, where undersea displacement can generate waves that travel across ocean basins.

What damage has been reported in Panama?

Videos shared by the Panamanian newspaper La Prensa and cited by Al Jazeera showed the tower of a historic building had collapsed in Penonome, a city roughly midway between the epicenter and Panama City. Several balconies on a residential building in the same city were also damaged, according to the footage described in the report. Buildings shook in Panama City itself, and residents evacuated into the streets, Al Jazeera reported.

How is Panama's government responding?

Panama's ministry of education ordered schools closed following the quake, according to Al Jazeera. President Jose Raul Mulino urged calm in a post on X, writing, "What happened should not be used to cause alarm or disorder." The government has not yet released a damage or casualty assessment, based on the available reporting.

What other earthquakes have hit the region this year?

Friday's quake adds to a run of destructive seismic activity in Latin America during 2026. In June, twin earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, causing widespread devastation and killing at least 6,500 people, Al Jazeera reported. In August, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit Colombia and killed at least 289 people, according to the same report. Those two events, combined with Friday's quake in Panama, point to a pattern of major fault activity along the region's Pacific and Caribbean margins this year, though the source material does not draw a scientific link between the three events.

What to Watch

• Whether the National Weather Service downgrades or cancels tsunami warnings for Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala as wave data comes in.
• Casualty and damage reports from Penonome and other towns near the epicenter, where a historic building tower and residential balconies have already collapsed.
• Panama's school-closure order and whether it extends beyond the immediate aftermath.
• Any update from President Mulino's office on relief coordination or infrastructure assessments.
• Whether Chile's naval hydrographic service maintains its own tsunami warning along the Chilean coast.

Residents in the warned zones were advised through official channels to move away from coastlines and low-lying areas until authorities lift the warnings, consistent with standard tsunami-response guidance referenced in the original report. No casualty figures for Friday's quake were available at the time of the Al Jazeera report.

The quake struck less than two months after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Colombia and four months after the twin quakes in Venezuela, underscoring the string of major seismic events across the region this year, according to the figures cited in the original reporting.

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